Friction clutch mechanism



Sept. 4, 1951 A. RUCH 2,567,125

FRICTION CLUTCH MECHANISM Filed Dec. so, 1948 s sheets-sheet z S I N VENTOR.

CZZ' APMC/L A. RUCH FRICTION CLUTCH MECHANISM Filed DeG. 30, 1948 NN 1X/ NN .www V ,QI @Q XN Mw, 9m. 0 |10 oV r.. W1 1 4 W www 0 .I u O o Oul, O uw, mw @N mw Patented Sept. 4, 14951 UNITED STATES .PATENT OFFICE2,567,125 FRic'rIoN CLUTCH MECHANISM Arthur Ruch, Chicago, Ill.Application December so, 194s, serial No. 68,209

Claims. l

This invention relates to improvements ln friction clutches of thegeneral class used in industrial plants to transmit power from acontinuously operable power shaft.

Clutches of the above general class ordinarily comprise a power take-offmember journaled on the power shaft and permitting independent movementof the shaft, a member fixed to the shaft so as to rotate continuouslytherewith, and means for releasably connecting said members together byfriction, whereby the power take-off member is releasably clutched tothe power shaft. Heretofore, the releasable connection of the powertake-off member with the cooperating clutch member fixed to the shafthas comprised a clamping engagement of such character that both saidmembers, when frictionally clutched together, must necessarily rotateabout the same axis. This condition makes frequent repairs necessarysince the journal opening of power takeolf members must be bushed orre-lined from time to time to compensate for wear. Otherwise, the axisof the power take-off member assumes a position eccentric to the axis ofthe power shaft, such as shown in Fig. 6 of this application. Under suchcondition a rigid clamping of the power take-off member to the drivingmember of the clutch, while the power take-off member is eccentric tothe axis of the power shaft, creates an unbalanced condition. That is tosay, the eccentric position of the take-off member, being clutchedrigidly to the driving member of the clutch, throws a major portion ofthe weight of the power take-off member to one side of its axis ofrotation. Such unbalanced condil f tion of the rotating members sets upsevere vibration which not only tends to injure thejourrial bearings ofthe power shaft, but imposes severe .pulsating and twisting strains .onthe clutch .is made for yieldably connecting the power takeofamemberWith-,the friciionm 'driving member 0f the structure, whereby the powertake-,goirmemiber and the said frictional driving member may rotateabout different axes without creating an unbalanced condition. Thisresult is accomplished, in ythe improved structure herein disclosed, byconnecting means in the form of a plurality of friction ring segmentsyieldably mounted on the power take-off member so as to have capacityfor limited sliding movement, transversely of the power shaft, relativeto the main body of the power take-off member.A The said friction ringsegments are provided with wedge-shaped friction faces which serve ascams, during prelimina'ry engagement with correspondingly inclined facesof a pressure exerting clutch plate, so that the rotational axis of thesegments, as a group, is moved into alignment with the rotational axisof the clutch plate and the shaft when the said clutch plate ismoved'lengthwise of the power shaft into frictional gripping engagementwith the segments. The provision for limited sliding movement betweenthe friction segments and the main body of the power take-off memberserves 'to compensate for any substantial non-axial alignment of thepower take-off member with the power shaft. member and the power shaftmay rotate about 'different axes without producing an objectionableunbalanced condition.

The invention is illustrated, in certain preferred embodiments, in theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a friction clutch constructed inaccordance with this invention.

.through the hub structure of a power takewf 4member of the clutch andillustrating the journal opening of the power talee-off membersubstantially larger than the power shaft, on which it yis journaled.

4 The-clutch mechanism herein shownV may be described briefly ascomprising a power taire-off member journaled on a power shaft il, a

Consequently, the power take-off clutch sleeve I2 provided with anabutment friction disk I3 and secured to the power shaft so as to rotatetherewith, a pressure actuated clutch plate I4 carried by the clutchsleeve I2, a plurality of friction elements I5 in the form of separatesegments of a ring, which segments are yieldably mounted on the powertake-off member and projects between the abutment disk I3 of the saidsleeve I2 and the pressure actuated clutch plate I4, and toggle levermeans, designated generally by the reference numeral I5, for moving theclutch plate I4 lengthwise of the sleeve I2 into engagement with thesegments I5, whereby the opposite faces of the said segments I5 arefrictionally clamped between the said abutment disk i3 and the saidclutch plate.

All of the clutch elements are designed for application to a power shaftintermediate its ends. Consequently, the several elements of the clutchstructure are split into two complementary sections, whereby they may bettted to a shaft at any desired location. To this end, the powertake-off member Ill, comprising a hollow housing portion il and a hubportion I8, is formed in two sections Ia-Ib so as to facilitate mountingthe sections on the power shaft II. The two parts IDE-IS", after beingassembled to rotate about the shaft II, are secured together by boltsI9. A pulley 2U for a power transmitting belt 2| is keyed or otherwisesuitably secured to the hub portion I8 of the power takeoif member.

The hollow housing portion Il of the power take-off member is ofcircular configuration and the inner face of its perimtter is formedwith a plurality of bosses 22 which stop short of the outer edge 23 ofthe housing. A plurality of studs 24 are threaded into the said bossesand extend outwardly therefrom to provide pintle supports for aplurality of resilient buffers 25 in the form of rollers. Each segmentelement I5 is provided with two elongated openings 26-26 spaced apartand fitting over a pair of the resilient buffers 25. The radial diameterof the elongated openings 26 preferably correspond to the diameter ofthe resilient buffers 25 so that the segment elements I5 are eachsupported by the resilient buifers and, therefore, by virtue of theresilience of the buffers, have capacity for movement relative to eachother and relative to the housing portion I1 of the power take-offmember I. Each of the said segment elements is formed, in its outerperiphery, with a pair of open recesses 21--21 which embrace a pair ofinwardly projecting lugs 28-28 formed on the inner face of a ring 29;the latter being split into two parts 29a-29h and bolted to the edge 23of the housing I'I by means of bolts 3B. The inner portions of thesegment elements i5 are formed on their opposite faces with arcuatechannels 3I and 32 adapted to receive wooden blocks 33 and 34,respectively, which provide renewable friction surfaces for the severalsegment elements. Each block 33 is of rectangular configuration incross-section and is tted in a channel 3l of a segment element. Eachblock 34 is of V-shape in cross-section and is fitted into the channels32 of a segment element. The blocks 33-34 are nrmly secured in positionby means of rivets 35 which extend through both blocks and the segmentelement on which they are mounted.

It will be seen from the above construction of the segment elements I5and the manner in which they movably engage the lugs 28-28 of the ringsv29, that each segment I5, by virtue of the resilient buffer 25 and theelongated slot 25 may move independently of the others and may move in adirection lengthwise of the elongated slots 25 to bring a vertical edgeof a recess 2l into abutting engagement with a side face of acooperating lug 28 on the ring 29. It will also be observed that theresilience of the buffers 25 will permit radial sliding movement betweenthe co-engaging abutting surfaces of the said recesses 21 and the lugs28, whereby the segment elements may be moved toward the axis of thepower shaft without disturbing the position of the power take-olfmember.

The friction sleeve I2 is split into two parts I2a and I2b and securedtogether by means of bolts 38 so that it may be applied to and removedfrom the power shaft at any desired location intermediate the 'ends ofthe shaft. The sleeve is secured to the shaft II by means of a key 3l(Fig. 2) and includes a disk portion I3 which serves as a frictionalabutment for the inner faces of the segment elements I5 when the plateI4 is pressed into gripping contact with the opposite faces thereof. Thepressure actuated friction plate I4 is made` in semi-circular sectionsIlla-I4b secured together by means of bolts 38. Each section of thisplate is formed with a slot 33-39 which fitsl the clamping lugs 4Il-4llbof the sleeve sections. The said lugs Mia-40h, therefore, serve as keymembers to spline the plate I4 to the sleeve I2. The said plate ismovable lengthwise of the sleeve into and out of frictional clampingengagement with the V-shaped friction blocks 34 on the several segmentelements I5. For this purpose the said plate is formed with a V-shapedrecess 4I adapted to t over and wedgingly engage the V-shapedconfiguration of the several blocks 34.

A pair of compression springs 42 are nterposed between the abutment diskI3 of the sleeve I2 and the friction plate I4 so as to normally hold thefriction plate I4 disengaged from the blocks 34.

The said friction sleeve I2 is preferably fixed to the shaft, and thefrictional engagement be- ,tween'the blocks 33 and the abutment diskportion I3 of the sleeve I2 is brought about by the pressure of theplate I4 against the blocks 34. This pressure will move the powertake-off member lengthwise of the power shaft to eifect frictionalclamping engagement of the segments I5 between the said abutment disk I3and the pressure actuated plate I4. The amount of this will vary fromtime to time so as to compensate for the wear Yon the wooden blocks 33and 34.

The plate I4 is moved into frictional engagement with the frictionblocks -34 by means of four toggle levers I3 which press against theouter surface of the V-shaped portion 4I of the plate I4. These togglelevers are preferably pivoted at 45 between ears 46-45 formed on acollar 41. This collar is made in two parts 41B- 411 which are clampedtogether on a threaded end portion 48 Aof the sleeve I2; the collarsections being secured together by means of bolts 49. The outer end ofeach of the toggle levers I6 is bifurcated to receive one end of atoggle link 50. The other end of the link is pivoted between ears 5I-5Iformed on an operating sleeve 52. This sleeve is split to form twosections 524--52b and is slidable lengthwise of the power shaft II. Thetwo sections 522-521) of the sleeve are held together by means of astrap 53 composed of sections 53h-53h which fits into a retainingchannel 54 extending around the outer surface of the sleeve 52.

,Each strap section 53E- 53h is'v provided with 'anoutward-lyyprojectingil'ug- SaadaptedV to engage with a suitable fork of operatingleverv (not shown), whereby the sleeve; 52 may be moved vlengthwise 'ofthe shaft to rock; the toggle levers segments l5. to the rotating sleeve|21 off the clutch, whereby the edge surfaces of the: recesses 21-21 arebrought into sliding engagement with the cooperating side faces of thelugs 28 of the clamp ring 29. Consequently, the rotational movement ofthe power shaft l I is transmitted to the power take-off member l andthence toA the belt 2l. The said clutching pressure is released bymovement of the said sleeve 52 in a direction toward the right of Fig'.2; Whereupon the springs 1&2 expand to force' the clutch plate I4 out ofrubbing engagement with the friction blocks 34.

By virtue of the fact that the segment elements l5 are yieldablysupported on the resilient buffers 25, they are permitted toautomatically adjust their positions to bring the inclined surfaces ofthe friction blocks 34 into alignment with the cooperating wedging facesof the pressure actu-' ated plate I4, when the latter is movedlengthwis-e of the power shaft toward the friction blocks 34. Thiscamming action on the inclined faces of the blocks 34 insure perfectalignment of the several segments with the V-shaped portion clutch platei4. In the event of substantial wear of the journal opening in the hubportion i8 of the power take-off member, whereby such journal opening islarger than the power shaft, as indicated at 55a in Fig. 6, and thepower take-off member rotates about an axis 56 eccentric to the axis 5'!of the power shaft, the resilience of the buffers 25 permits movement ofthe clutch segments l5, under the camming pressure of clutch plate I, ina direction to bring the rotational axes of the several segments intoalignment with the axis of the power shaft. The sliding engagement ofthe edges of the recesses 21 with the side faces of lugs 28, therefore,compensate for any eccentric, non-axial alignment of the power take-offmember IIJ relative to the power shaft. Consequently, the .powertake-off member l0 will maintain a line contact throughout the fullwidth of its journal bearing on the power shaft. This character ofengagement will prevent the forces transmitted to the belt 2l fromimposing tilting strains on the power take-off member at an angle to theaxis rotation of the power shaft, which angular movement, when the powertake-off member is rigidly clamped to the shaft, imposes fracturingstrains on the co-engaging friction members of the clutch and alsocreates an unbalanced or counter-weight effect on the rotating clutchmechanism as a whole.

While the invention, as herein illustrated, shows the use of foursegment elements I5, it will be obvious that the number of such segmentsmay be varied. It should also be understood that the clutch structureherein shown is intended only as an illustration and not as a limitationto the scope of the invention.

I claim:

l. In combination with a power shaft, a friction clutch structuremounted on the` shaftcom- Vprising a power take-off member journaledongagement with said driving member, means on Y 'the power take-off memberdefining an abutment element, and means defining a cooperatingabutment-faceV on said connecting means which is movable, by rotation ofsaid connecting means relative to said power take-off member, intosliding abutting engagement with said abutment element; whereby saidconnecting means has a positive driving connection with said powertake-off member, but is yieldable relative thereto in a directiontransversely of the shaft to compensate for non-axial alignment of thepower take-off' memberand the power shaft.

2. In combination with a power shaft, a friction clutch structuremounted on the shaft comprising a power take-off member journaled on theshaft,

a frictional driving member secured to the shaft to rotate therewith,and connecting means comprising a plurality of separate elementspositioned for releasable frictional engagement with, said drivingmember, means on the power takeoff member defining a plurality ofabutment ele-v ments, and means defining a plurality of abutment faceson each of said separate elements for cooperating with said abutmentelements on the power take-off member and movable, by rotation of saidseparate elements relative to said power take-off member, into slidingabutting engagement with their associated abutment elements; whereby theseveral separate elements of said connecting means have positive drivingcon-- nections with the Ipower take-off member, but. are yieldablerelative thereto in a direction transversely of the shaft to compensatefor non-axial alignment of the power take-olf member and thel powershaft.

3. In combination with a power shaft, a friction clutch structuremounted on the shaft comprising a power take-off member journaled on fvthe shaft, a frictional driving member secured to the shaft to rotatetherewith, and connecting means comprising a plurality of ring segmentspositioned for releasable frictional engagement with said drivingmember, means on the power take-off member dening a plurality ofabutment elements, and means defining a pair of recesses in each of saidring segments for embracing a pair of said abutment elements, one faceof each recess being movable, by rotation of said segments relative tosaid power take-o member, into sliding abutting engagement with anassociated abutment element; whereby said ring segments have positivedriving connections with the power take-off member, but are yieldablerelative thereto ina direction transversely of the shaft to compensatefor non-axial aligrnnent of the power take-off member and the powershaft.

4. In combination with a power shaft, a friction clutch structuremounted on the shaft comprising a power take-orf member journaled onsaid shaft, a frictional driving member secured to the shaft to rotatetherewith, and connecting means comprising a plurality of ring segmentsarranged in circular alignment for rotation about the axis of the shaft,means for moving the frictional driving means into frictional grippingengagement with said ring segments, resilient means for yieldablyconnecting the ring segments to the power take-off member comprisingresilient buffer elements carried on the power takeoi member extendinginto elongated openings formed in the said ring segments, lugs formed onthe power take-off member providing a plurality of abutment elements,and means defining abutment faces on said ring segments for embracingsaid abutment elements, whereby the said segments have positive drivingconnections With the said power take-ofi', but have capacity forrnovement relative to said abutment members transversely of the powershaft to compensate for nonaxial alignment of the power take-off memberand the power shaft.

5. In combination with a power shaft, a friction clutch structureoperable by said shaft and comprising a power take-off member supportedfor rotational movement, a friction driving element comprising a sleeveelement fixed on the power shaft, and connecting means comprising aplurality of friction ring segments yieldably supported on the powertake-off member and positioned for frictional engagement with saidfriction driving member, lug elements on the power take-off memberdening a plurality of spaced apart abutments, means defining a pair ofrecesses formed in the periphery of each ring segment for looselyembracing a pair of said abutments and movable into abutting slidingengagement with the cooperating side walls of said abutments, wherebyeach of said ring segments has a positive driving connection with saidpower take-off member, but is yieldable relative thereto in a directiontransversely of the power shaft to compensate for non-axial alignment ofthe power take-off member and the power shaft.

ARTHUR RUCH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 797,578 Holcomb Aug. 22, 1905863,864 Master Aug. 20, 1907 911,415 Lemley Feb. 2, 1909 1,584,425 BestMay 11, 1926 2,073,852 Radford Mar, 16, 1937 2,167,705 Batten Aug. 1,1939

